20 June (88)

Good Byes.

AP Class of 2025

I start this good bye with a thank you. You never knew this, but you brought back to me some of the joy of teaching that I had been missing for the last while. You all willingly went along on the journey, and you worked hard and came back for more. You demonstrated yourselves to be thoughtful, insightful, and caring students in the ways you interacted with me and each other. You rekindled some hope I have for the future of humanity, and more importantly, you made class fun. I genuinely looked forward to teaching you each day. You do not know how much that means to me, but it means a great deal. You will truly be a class I long remember and think on positively.

I hope all of you find your way to success and joy. There will be bumps along the way, and there will be struggles, but I hope that each and everyone of you finds the success and happiness that you are all absolutely worthy of. Enjoy the time that is to come. Some of my fondest life memories are of my university years. Be open to the fun you will have in new experiences and be present to take advantage of all they offer. Be true to yourself and be kind to those you meet along the way – it is worth the effort.

I am always out here to hear of your successes and struggles and to cheer you on. Go be amazing.

Sincerely,

Culbert           if you want it – FraserCulbert@hotmail.com ( I am old – I use email still – hahaha)

17 - 19 June, Tues - Thurs (85 - 87)

Interviews

Student exit interviews run.

Friday's class: Letters of Appreciation and Good byes

16 June, Monday (84)

Preparation

One last preparation day before the interviews and wrap-up. 

Next Class: Interviews start

12 June, Thursday (82) and 13 June, Friday (83)

Interview preparation

Students spent the time preparing for their interviews.

Next Class: One last preparation

11 June, Wednesday (81)

Presentations

We heard the remainder of the presentation. Great job.

Next Class: A quick discussion on the exit interviews and what you can do to prepare for them. 

10 June, Tuesday (80)

Presentations

We heard presentations from many students and they were all entertaining. Very well done. 

For exit interviews here are some questions.

AP English Literature 12 Exit Interview Questions

Course Reflection

1. What piece of literature had the most impact on you this year, and why?
   (Encourages deep reflection on texts and personal connection.)

2. How has your understanding or appreciation of literature evolved during this course?
   (Assesses intellectual growth.)

Skills and Learning

3. Which literary skill (e.g., analysis, close reading, essay writing) do you feel you've improved the most in, and what helped you develop it?

4. Was there a moment this year when something “clicked” for you in your writing or interpretation of literature? Describe it.

Engagement and Challenge

5. Which assignment or project did you find most engaging or meaningful? Why did it stand out?

6. What was the most challenging part of the course for you, and how did you approach or overcome it?

Course Design and Teaching

7. Is there a novel, play, or poem you wish had been included in the curriculum? Why?

8. Was there a teaching method, class activity, or discussion format that really worked for you, or didn’t? Explain.

Looking Forward

9. What skills or insights from this class do you think you’ll carry into future academic or personal pursuits?

10. If you could give one piece of advice to next year’s AP Lit students, what would it be?

Next Class: More presentations

09 June, Monday (79)

Oh The Horror

Our volunteer Hannah gave a wonderful lesson on the horror genre and asked questions about high and low culture, and shared some story examples with us. Great stuff. We had lots to discuss. Check the teams for the examples.

Next Class: Back to presentation to persuade us. 

06 June, Friday (78)

Presentations begin

We heard 5 presentations and then it was "work" time.

Next Class: More presentations

05 June, Thursday (77)

Work Block

Students worked on their presentations.

Next Class: Presentation time and work time.

04 June, Wednesday (76)

Work Block

Students had time to work on their persuasive presentation. Some did, eventually. Students were also told they could sign up for the exit interview. 

Next Class: More work time.

03 June, Tuesday (75)

Work Block

Students (who were there) had time to work on their presentation. Some also had time to explore the 90s with some trivia. 

Next Class: More work time

02 June, Monday (74)

Celebrate and Share

Students had a chance to share their two poems and comment on each other's work in small groups. This was meant as a means to celebrate the work students put in. Poems were then handed in. 

Next class: Work block for Presentations that are due Friday.

30 May, Friday (73)

Work Block

Students had time to work on their pieces. They were technically due today. 

Next Block: Share and Celebration of work

29 May, Thursday (72)

Work Block

Students had time to work on their pieces. 

Next Block: Work block and poems due

28 May, Wednesday (71)

Work Block

Students had time to work on their pieces.

Next Block: Work Block

26 May, Monday (69)

How to write poetry.

We looked at the three pillars of poetry (Imagery, Sound, and Structure), and at how to write a poem. Students then had some writing time.

Next Class: Writing time and the next assignment (maybe)

23 May, Friday (68)

Poetry Writing

Students spent some time working on their poems, and then some more trivia was played, this time 90s trivia - again poorly. :)

Next Class: How to write a poem and writing time.

22 May, Thursday (67)

Poetry Writing

For those that were there (all 6) they played trivia - poorly :)

Next Class: Writing Time

21 May, Wednesday (66)

Poetry as Protest

Language warning – some of the poems use language that we may not be comfortable with as they are making a statement about treatment, behaviour, language, or situation, or they are reclaiming terms and words that others not in the group may not be comfortable with. 

We started with listening to "America" by Allen Ginsberg. We took a brief moment to make sense of what was being said and to try and understand what was being protested. 

From there, I turned students loose on two web sites to explore the poems;

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/101581/poems-of-protest-resistance-and-empowerment

https://poets.org/protest-poetry

Students, with a partner or two were to look at some poems and then settle on one to briefly analyze and understand. What is the poem protesting and how is it doing it. 

We then discussed as a class.

Finally we ended with the idea of how do we write a protest poem. 

Next Class: Writing time

15 May, Thursday (64)

Discussion

I posted ten questions having to do with the film (and life maybe) and then gave students some thinking time. We then discussed as a class. Some insights were had. 

Next Class: Poetry with purpose

14 May, Wednesday (63)

Film Day 2

We continued and finished watching Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

Next Class: Discussion.

13 May, Tuesday (62)

Film Day 1

We started watching the film. The goal is to have a discussion about it on Thursday.

Next Class: Finish watching film

12 May, Monday (61)

Comedy

We spoke of how the thread poems are an ongoing assignment with no due date posted yet. And I showed a sample one. 

Next up we looked at a power point on comedy that included a few sample videos. This is to prepare us for viewing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. 

We spoke of Absurdism, Farce, Slapstick, Verbal, and Situational Comedies.

Next Class: Viewing Movie.

9 May, Friday (60)

Thread Poems

The students were given the following instructions;

THREAD POEM

GOAL: Craft a poem that in some way captures the essence of, speaks to, and/or elucidates a thread as you’ve come to know it in the context of any of the work that you have read this year.

SPECIFICS: Your document will include:

• In the heading at the top of the page:

• • Your name

• • The work you are reading (correctly punctuate the title)

• • The thread you are studying

• The poem itself will include:

• • An original title

• • At least 12 lines

• • The rest, as they say, is up to you—as long as it “in some way captures the essence of, speaks to, and/or elucidates your thread.”

  • Cleverly uses at least two or more different poetic devices (that is why you did the quiz).

Next Class: A quick discussion of these poems and talking about Comedy.

8 May, Thursday (59)

Terms Quiz Manufacturing

The students were given the following instructions;

• Create a quiz challenge

• Using poetry terms that you know, and that you don’t remember, emphasis on the don’t remember. Use the poetry terms sheet, or online to find some. Create a quiz, of any type (fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice, etc.). The quiz should be minimum ten questions. 

• You can work in pairs or in trios, or solo. 

• Do answers and quiz separate. 

• Feel free to have another student(s) rate your quiz after you are done.

They had the block to make the quizzes.

Next Class: Thread Poems

7 May, Wednesday (58)

Distraction

Students had a chance to breath after writing the AP exam. We went with out structure. Yikes.

Next Class: Creating a poetry terms quiz.

6 May, Tuesday (57)

More Poetry Analysis

We looked at another poem, at an old provincial exam poem and multiple choice, and an old AP exam MCQ and poem, that we actually had looked at already. Last chance to get ready for those taking the exam. Also good to look at poetry as we might write some soon.

Next Class: Post exam contemplation

5 May, Monday (56)

Poetry Analysis

In order to practice for the exam we analyzed two poems, "Auto Wreck" and "Ex-Basketball Player". Students had limited time to make meaning of the poems. 

Next Class: We will dig into some more poems.

2 May, Friday (55)

Exam Prep Day 4

We looked at the online exam today and did the multiple choice. Make sure you complete the practice. 

Next Class: We will analyze some poetry. 

1 May, Thursday (54)

Exam Prep Day 3

We colour mapped the last essay and then went over the MC from the day before. Lots to learn about our writing and ability to answer MC questions.

Next Class: Computer Exam MC to keep practicing.

 30 April, Wednesday (53)

Exam Prep Day 2

Today, students wrote a practice exam, or at least the part 1 of the exam. I will mark it and we will see what we will do with it. 

Next Class: Bring your computers, looking at the practice exams online.

April 25, Friday (51)

Wrap up day.

Ms Reily came and spoke to the class. I will post her power point when I get it. 

We then spoke of Hamlet and tried wrapping up the play. Attentions were a bit wandery.

Next Class: Exam Preparation

April 24, Thursday (50)

In Class Write #6

Students wrote essay number 6 and answered some questions about it. 

Next Class: Wrap up of Hamlet

April 23, Wednesday (49)

Annotating Passages

With a passage from the play to annotate and makes sense of as a group and make, and then connect it to the themes of the play, students worked for the first 30 minutes. Then it was time to present their ideas and understandings to the class. 

Next Class: In class write

April 22, Tuesday (48)

They are all dead.

We spoke of the info session on Friday about the exam. 

Then it was the reflection;

Take a moment and reflect.

What are you good at so far in English.

i.e. I have some strengths in my annotation skills and I am able to use a number of techniques like questioning and connecting to make sense of what I am reading.

Plus, what can you improve at.

i.e. I can improve upon my analytical writing by creating stronger thesis statements to organize my essays and by putting more effort into proofreading to catch simple mistakes in grammar.

Plus. Plans for learning

i.e. I plan to spend more time reading to deepen my understanding of the material.

Next up we finished watching Hamlet, and saw everyone die. 

Finally, I randomized the kids into groups and gave them a passage from the play to annotate as a group and make sense of it, then connect it to the themes of the play. They will have some work time tomorrow then present their ideas to the class. 

Next Class: Work time and presenting. 

April 17, Thursday (47)

Hamlet Wraps (almost)

We finished watching Hamlet and once more spoke of some of the big lines and the important moments, and generally just made sense of the story.

Students should be filling out a Threads sheet for Hamlet as this will help with studying for the exam. 

Next Class: Finishing the play and digging into some themes and motifs of the play through passage analysis.

April 16, Wednesday (46)

Hamlet Continues

We continued watching Hamlet and hit some of the big speeches, including To be or not to be ... . 

We ought to finish the content tomorrow. 

Next Class: The Conclusion of the Play

April 15, Tuesday (45)

Hamlet Begins

We started with some general facts and trivia about Shakespeare, as well as the Renaissance just to help us set the stage, so to speak, for our look at Hamlet. We ran through a slide show (attached) and I had handed out some questions (attached) and then we looked closely at the first 23 lines of the play (in fact we had volunteers read it aloud for us). We made sense of the lines and established the mood (atmosphere) of the play at this point. 

From there, we started watching the 1990 version of the play starring Mel Gibson. 

Next Class: Continue our exploration of the play.

Apr 11, Friday (43)

In Class Write

Students wrote their 5th essay. FRQ#3 second attempt. We also added on 10 multiple choice questions.

Next Class: We begin looking into Hamlet.

Apr 09, Wednesday (41)

Discussion Share

Groups shared their discussions with the rest of the class. Some really good points were brought up and discussed. Great work.

Next Class: Complete the discussions and revisit sophistication.

Apr 07, Monday (39)

Novel Structure

We started with some questions, moved to some answers and then back to more questions. 

Question on Narrative Structure of Frankenstein

• How is this story structured? What impact does that structure have on the themes and motifs of the novel?

• Who are the narrators of the story? (What voice?) What impact/effect does having different narrators have on the novel?

Things to learn/know

• Epistolary Format: The epistolary format is a literary style that uses letters, diary entries, and other forms of correspondence to tell a story. This technique allows for multiple perspectives and personal insights, often creating an intimate connection between the reader and the characters. In the context of narrative structure, it can enhance themes of isolation, identity, and moral complexity by showcasing characters' thoughts and emotions through their written words.

• Frame narrative: A frame narrative is a storytelling technique where a main story surrounds or encompasses one or more smaller stories within it. This structure not only provides context for the inner narratives but also allows for varied perspectives and themes to be explored, creating a layered storytelling experience that enhances the reader's understanding of the characters and situations involved.

• Gothic literature: Gothic literature is a genre that combines elements of horror, mystery, and the supernatural, often set against dark, foreboding landscapes. This genre emerged in the late 18th century, reflecting Romantic ideals that emphasized emotion and the sublime, while exploring themes of isolation, madness, and the uncanny. The genre not only influenced literature but also cultural perceptions of fear and the unknown.

• Romanticism: Romanticism is an artistic and intellectual movement that emerged in the late 18th century and emphasized emotion, individualism, and the beauty of nature. This movement marked a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment and sought to elevate imagination and personal experience in literature and art, leading to new forms of expression and thematic exploration.

Final Questions for thinking about ( I suggested write down the answers)

How is this novel an example of a Gothic Novel / a Romantic Era piece of writing / a frame narrative / epistolary structure? What does that add to the novel.

Next Class: Some group time to finalize group report outs, and the Frankenstein Multiple Choice Quiz

Apr 04, Friday (38)

Sophistication

We spoke of the discussion questions briefly and then it was on to learning to recognize sophistication. There were handouts of sample essays and we did some grading then a brief discussion on how to approach the sophistication point, more on that later. 

Next Class: Narrative structure in the novel

Apr 01, Tuesday (35)

Presentations and History

We had some presentations from previous to spring break to complete and so we did half of them. Then it was a quick history lesson to help contextualize the novel. 

https://prezi.com/view/p2Gc0Qp6L0qXn4LsKLd5/

Next class: remainder of the presentations and finishing up the history.

Mar 14, Friday (33)

Presentations

Students did excellent work. We heard a number of them but sadly did not finish them. We will continue hearing from them bit by bit. 

Over spring break read Frankenstein. 

Next Class: The Shelley's intro and Frankenstein

Mar 13, Thursday (32)

Comings and Goings, or more aptly goings and comings

We dug into John Donne (I gave information on the man - much to the shock of the class about his marriage). Students then dug into "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning". We made some sense of it. We then moved on to Yeats' "Second Coming". We hopefully mades sense of that poem. Both were practice at looking at more complex poetry and making sense of it. 

Next Class: More presentations

Mar 12, Wednesday (31)

Presentations and brief history

We heard a handful of poetry presentations. very impressive. I look forward to more. 

We then had a mostly complete abridged history of the English Language. More to come if you want it. 

Next Class: A Valediction, and maybe more poems. 

Mar 11, Tuesday (30)

The Collar (and Metaphysical Poetry)

Mr. Adrian came in for a guest lesson and spoke of the Metaphysical Poetry article, as well as deep a deep dive into the George Herbert poem "The Collar" lots to learn about it and some great insights into the poem.

Next Class: Some presentations and some more poetry analysis.

Mar 7, Friday (28)

FRQ 1 - Take 2

Once more we wrote. Students had the shortened class to write another FRQ 1 response. Anxiety levels are still up, but we are also working on getting writing time down. Remember to breath.

Next Class: Poetry and imagery, attitude, metaphor and symbolism. 

Mar 6, Thursday (27)

Class shortened due to parent-teacher conferences.

MCQ

We tried our hand at multiple choice questions based on a poem. Students were given the poem and then given time to answer the questions. We marked them as a class. I also spoke of how to take a multiple choice test.

Next Class: Another FRQ on poetry.

Mar 5, Wednesday (26)

Exploring poetry on our own

I gave a choice of two poems - "Gallbladder" by Evelyn Lau, and "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. Students had the following task;

Pick one of the two poems. Annotate to understand. Be thorough.

Be sure to indicate – setting and situation, character (if applicable), choice and levels of diction, (your annotation will indicate syntax notables, connotative or denotative differences so no need to do extra on that), and tone, mood and theme. 

Students had time to do this and then hand it in.

Next Class: Multiple Choice questions on a poem.

Mar 4, Tuesday (25)

Sonnets

Today's lesson turned into a crash course on sonnets so we could use them as a vehicle to continue to explore diction in poetry. Check out the prezi I used. https://prezi.com/view/JcJJUKt3cz2yGSTUWydI/

We then took a look at 4 sonnets and in groups dug through them for deeper meaning and greater understanding that was then shared out with the class. 

Next Class: We look at a couple more poems and maybe revisit the essay writing skill.

Special Entry

Feb 28, Friday

AP Classroom

Make sure you have signed up to AP Classroom. The code you need is -  3QVNNA

(https://myap.collegeboard.org/ Then the code is - 3QVNNA)

I have released a great number of videos to watch on the various topics that we have covered. I have also released a number of sample FRQ responses that you can do on your own. You can also self assess. I can monitor what you have done. If you want more practice with the essay response writing then check out some of the essay writes as it will let you write one. You should try to do at least one over spring break. 

Feb 27, Thursday (23)

Essay Day

Today students wrote the FRQ1. I think this might be the hardest one yet. This gives us our base line of all three types of questions. Now we can start to take the essay questions serious and try and grow in our skills. 

Next Class: A look at Shape and Sound of poetry and exploring "Aubade with Burning City"

Feb 26, Wednesday (22)

Exploring a Country Churchyard

We started with a brief reminder that marks on MyEd are a loose work in progress and I would not trust them at all. We got a visit from Mr Adrian too.

Then we got the last of our thread presentations.

From there students jumped into analyzing "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard". Students split into groups and dug into the poem and we made sense of it. Hopefully sense was made. 

Finally, I handed out a poem and suggested students should have a listen to it. 

Click the link and and then click the listen button.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56769/aubade-with-burning-city

Also, check out 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45527/lines-composed-a-few-miles-above-tintern-abbey-on-revisiting-the-banks-of-the-wye-during-a-tour-july-13-1798 for a poem about setting. Great poem, we may circle back to it. 

Next Class: FRQ1 Write.

Feb 24, Monday (20)

Poetry Introduced

We had a thread presentation from last week to do, then it was into our poetry intro. Students started with asome quotes about poetry and got to share and talk with each other about what they thought poetry was. Then we jumped into a power point on the subject, followed by one on our focus this week of Character and Setting (see below). We then tackled the "Passionate Shepherd to his love" and "The Nymph's reply to the Shepherd". we yused them to look at character. I left the students with "My Last Duchess" to read an dhopefully understand. We will jump into it tomorrow and maybe a few others.

Next Class: More poems on characters

Feb 21, Friday (19)

FRQ3 Write

Students spent the block writing. It was there first shot at the FRQ3. Already seeing improvement in stress and time management from their last FRQ write. 

We went with the 2009 Prompt. See me in class if you need it. 

Next Class: We look at poetry and even how to approach it. 

Feb 19, Wednesday (17)

Thread Presentations

We got through many of our thread presentations. Great work. Lots was learned. 

Next Class: The remainder, and examining the prompts and applying threads.

Feb 14, Friday (15)

Learning disguised as fun

We started with writing terrible love poetry. It was meant to be fun and silly, and also get students writing again without stress.

Then we dove into some good poetry. Students were given a package a love themed poems and they had to find a partner and dig into a poem in the package and analyze it. After a chunk of time they were asked to share the poem with the class and briefly explain what it was about. We made it through most but not all. Some good insights into the poems. Perhaps we will come back and visit some of these poems again later. Hopefully, students can see some joy in poetry and not be afraid of it. 

Next Class: We start dealing with the novels students read, and we deal with the FRQ3 and writing again.

Feb 13, Thursday (14)

Winning the Lottery

We spoke briefly on essays and on what we are doing next class, and decided we would take a break from writing this week only to go hard moving forward. 

Then we got on to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery". This time around we did a whole class discussion. We circled up and used some questions as a guide and let loose talking about the story. So many great points raised. The only thing missed was the point of view.  Great work.

Next class: Some terrible love poetry and more.

Feb 12, Wednesday (13)

Conformity

Students gave their brief thoughts on Updike's "A&P". Then we talked of conformity. Students were put into three groups and connected different parts of the story to conformity. We shared it out and had a good conversation about it. We did not fully get to sharing the theme, but we got to theme in a way. 

Next Class: Read "The Lottery".

Feb 10, Monday (11)

Discussions of the hour

Students started with some multiple choice questions on the short story. Then it was a quick lesson on irony, and then some small group discussions on the short story "The Story of an Hour". Some understandings were had. 

Next Class: Reading "The Move", and more elements of fiction.

Feb 07, Friday (10)

FRQ2 Practice Write

Students had the block to practice one of the FRQ2 style response writes. They had 60 minutes to write a response based on the 2015 AP Exam FRQ2. Handout is available in class.

They were very focused. I will look at the responses and we will see what we need to work on.

Next Class: Back to Short stories and more Elements of Fiction and the short story "The Story of an Hour".

Feb 06, Thursday (9)

Discussions on Wall Paper

Students finished the discussion on understanding "A Rose for Emily" and then we shuffled the groups and spoke on four big ideas about "The Yellow Wallpaper". The ideas were; 

What does “The Yellow Wallpaper” say about each of the following topics: 

• The Gender Hierarchy of Marriage

• The Dangers of the Private Sphere 

• The Need for Creative Self-Expression 

• Desire to Control One’s Own Life 

Finally, we spoke about what tomorrow will be, a writing day, and I asked that students find some threads between the stories if they can.

Next Class: Students try thier hand at an FRQ2 style question by writing a response. 

Feb o5, Wednesday (8)

Discussion for Emily

Students split into groups and dug into "A Rose for Emily" we then started discussing it.

Next Class: More on this and "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Extra Note

Feb 4

I am trying to use some of the resources on AP College Classroom. You should sign up and check it out.

They have some videos.

Here are some you should watch;

https://apclassroom.collegeboard.org/d/nhcovluc7p?sui=13,1 - Understanding Character

https://apclassroom.collegeboard.org/d/kcrrsl6qlf?sui=13,1 - Understanding Plot Structure

There will be more coming.

I also recommend you try the multiple choice questions.

Feb 04, Tuesday (7) 

Two Stories Discussed

We started out with the Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and made sense of the story and discussed it looking at things like structure, tone, technique and character. We attempted to come up with some thematic ideas. 

We moved on to the Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants". Students had a good sense of what this story was about. We spent time discussing it, looking at character, and a lot at setting and what it reveals, including the characters movements and position in that setting. We ended with trying to think of thematic ideas for this one too. 

Next Class: We dig into Faulkner's "A rose for Emily."

Jan 29, Wednesday (3)

Annotation to Explanation - Part I

We finished up with our exploration of "First Sight". Students were asked to summarize in one sentence. We then looked at imagery, and briefly spoke of mood, and word choice, and then worked up to tone and finally theme. This was practice to how we analyze.

Next I began the lesson on going from annotation to explanation/ interpretation. Today was part one of the lesson. We will continue tomorrow. I will post the notes on tomorrows entry. 

Sept 25 - Lunch

First meeting  - It begins

We had our first meeting and books were made available. I spoke of why I selected the books, and how they can help you in the class - just a little. I also spoke of some future writing plans - though nothing concrete at this point, keep checking this space for information. If you have any questions please email or come see me. 

One of the ideas that I threw out there was to have a lunch book chat one day where we talk about the novels. I like this idea. I will give up a lunch for this. More if we think it useful. 

Let us say early November we have a book chat lunch and discuss the novels. Students can bring their frustrations, their joys, and their questions and observations to the discussion.